We present to you this week’s From Our Friends: Packed with a ton of interesting and fun info (even a giveaway!), you are sure to leave this selection a little keener. Check out great articles about why skim milk isn’t better for you, helping out your immune system during cold season, homemade pretzels, lunchboxes, and 8 tiny organisms Earth cannot live without. Have a great weekend OAers!

1. Blisstree wants you to know that skim milk isn’t necessarily better for you than whole milk, despite being lower in fat. Click through to read why.

2. This week saw an absolutely fascinating article by EcoSalon on 8 tiny organisms Earth cannot live without, beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms that make the world go round!

3. The fine folks at MightyNest have some great reasons on why to choose a stainless steel lunchbox, including a nice giveaway!

4. Your body’s rapid-response defenses protect you from millions of would-be invaders daily. Here’s an article from Experience Life on how you can help your immune system do its job.

5. If you’ve got 20 minutes, you can make your own snacks for pennies an ounce. Try Rodale’s great guide to easy, healthy homemade pretzels!

]]>19 Studies Suggest Link Between GMO Foods and Serious Organ Damagehttp://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/19-studies-suggest-link-between-gmo-foods-and-serious-organ-damage/
Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:32:39 +0000http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/?p=9031A new report published in the March 1 issue of Environmental Sciences Europe has revealed a connection between genetically modified foods and significant risk of developing organ disruptions, particularly in the liver and kidneys. The research was conducted by a team of scientists including Gilles-Eric Séralini, professor of molecular biology at the University of Caen […]

A new report published in the March 1 issue ofEnvironmental Sciences Europe has revealed a connection between genetically modified foods and significant risk of developing organ disruptions, particularly in the liver and kidneys.

The research was conducted by a team of scientists including Gilles-Eric Séralini, professor of molecular biology at the University of Caen in France. Séralini and his team reviewed 19 animal based studies, some of which showed that consuming genetically modified corn or soybeans led to the organ disruptions, with male kidneys responding the worst.

A number of male rats who were fed Monsanto’s MON863 corn developed smaller kidneys with significant inflammation among other markers of disruptive kidney filtration and function problems. Some animals experienced changes in metabolic rates in the liver. Female genital cancers increased in the second generation, and some of the animals who were fed genetically modified organisms had altered body weights in at least one gender, which is considered to be a very strong predictor of side effects displaying in various organs related to toxins in the diet.

According to Jeffrey Smith, author of “Seeds of Deception,” Séralini’s study falls short in being able to determine whether any of the particular problems are a result of the pesticides applied directly to the GM crops, or as a result of the engineered seeds themselves, which causes genetic changes to the plants’ DNA.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture suggests that at least 70 percent of processed foods in U.S. supermarkets now contain genetically modified ingredients. 93 percent of soy, 86 percent of corn and 93 percent of cotton and canola planted in the U.S. in 2010 were genetically engineered.